


First Red

by Nyctolovian



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo Round 1 (Nyctolovian) [1]
Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: ???? idk, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Fainting, Gen, Hiding Medical Issues, Hiding an injury, Hurt, Hyakkimaru (Dororo) is a Good Sibling, Not Beta Read, hyakkimaru doesnt gODDAMN LEAVE, idk if its a thing ppl are looking out for but just in case, she/her pronouns for dororo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23358049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyctolovian/pseuds/Nyctolovian
Summary: Dororo gets hurt and hides the injury while travelling back to the refugee village with her father's treasure.
Relationships: Dororo & Hyakkimaru (Dororo)
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo Round 1 (Nyctolovian) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680031
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	First Red

**Author's Note:**

> oof i tried my best but writing for dororo is difficult :'' other than the fact that i have not written this before, i couldn't find it in me to hurt dororo very much since shes so babey oops... so i went for something more mild i guess??? 
> 
> Also, i personally rly disliked the part where hyakkimaru left. Wasnt it established that the reason why he became more human was cos of dororo??? and now he wants to go out to find out if how human he is wth??? so yeah. this fic is canon-divergent
> 
> This was for the "hiding an injury" prompt for Bad Things Happen Bingo, from anon!

Hyakkimaru was strangely obsessed with naming colours lately but with how he reacted to getting his senses back previously, Dororo wasn't surprised. However, that didn't make it any less annoying to her when he pointed at a flower for the hundredth time that day and asked, "Dororo, is this red?" 

"This is the first time he's able to see, right?" Genjirou asked, laughing. "I think we should let him have his moment."

Dororo sighed loudly as she looked at her Aniki squatting on the floor and scrutinising the flower closely. She still couldn't help her annoyance. The three of them were on the way back to the refugee village from getting her father's hidden treasure, of which they each carried a bag. So they had a ton of valuable stuff. With the war increasingly taking a toll on Daigo's land, who knows how many people are desperate to get this treasure in their hands?

It was a good thing Genjirou was around to help as well. There was literally no way Dororo and Hyakkimaru could drag this much stuff back to the village. According to the other refugees, Genjirou was a trusted friend and one of their strongest men. So far, they were proven to be right.

The unforeseen troublemaker was none other than Hyakkimaru himself. He was constantly pulled away by different sights, and when they were out of Daigo's land and were seeing more beautiful things like green hills and colourful flower fields, Dororo completely lost her Aniki to those distractions. 

To make matters worse, however… She gripped her robe tighter to herself.

While trying to get the treasure, she had slipped while trying to climb the pile and gotten a nick from a bejeweled dagger (why on earth was that even there?!) on her back. She had deliberately stood where the other two couldn't see her back until the sun set and she was safe to mend her clothes and patch herself up.

It really should have been a simple affair with the injury being so shallow. She started the next day without a thought about the wound but it was starting to burn and twinge under her clothing. She couldn't see the wound no matter how she twisted her body but when she reached back to touch it, it wasn't a lot of blood. She knew immediately what it was. Years spent around bandits had taught her this meant her wound was infected. 

Usually, she wouldn't mind just fixing the wound herself but, unlike previously, Hyakkimaru could now see exactly what she was doing and she'd have to explain herself, which she'd really rather not do. It would be pathetic to admit to Hyakkimaru that she got the wound from a stupid fall. 

But there was an even bigger reason why she's not doing that: Genjirou would see her.

Aniki already knew she was a girl. Somehow or another, blind as he was back then, he still managed to figure out she was a girl. But Hyakkimaru was not a blather mouth so it was fine. Who else can he tell things to anyway? 

Genjirou on the other hand… He was popular in the village, and he was talkative. In this trip alone, Dororo had learned more about Genjirou and the other refugees than she had in the week she spent with them before heading out.

There was _no_ way she was letting him find out she was a girl.

So she kept her mouth shut. As the day dragged on, her wound throbbed away, draining her energy bit by bit.

* * *

The mid-day sun was blazing above the travelling group, and the sweltering weather was already unbearable, yet somehow, Dororo's wound felt hotter still, swelling to a worrying throb. Even the tiniest movement on her part would set her robe scratching agonisingly against her raw flesh.

She had also drunk quite a bit of water but somehow she still felt endlessly parched. Maybe it was because of how she panted with each and every exhausting step she took. Her chest was heaving and it occasionally stuttered, giving way to fatigue for a second before starting again.

Things were uncomfortable to say the least. In fact, Dororo was lightheaded and feverish with pain. She just hoped she'd make it through today and get some much needed rest.

"Dororo…"

Her eyes snapped up to look at her Aniki's brown ones. It was still slightly weird not to see wooden eyes when she looked at her Aniki. 

"Are you alright? Your face is… white."

Playfully, Dororo rolled her eyes. "Putting your new words to use so quickly?" she teased in an attempt to dodge the question. 

Hyakkimaru with his eyes back was far more expressive than he used to be. Right now, there was the slightest tinge of pride in his eyes. However, that was quickly replaced again with worry. "There is something wrong."

"What is?" Genjirou asked as he slowed his pace to match the other two. 

Internally, Dororo groaned. 

"Dororo looks very white."

"Oh right, he does," Genjirou said as he knelt down and held her by the shoulders. "Are you feeling ill?"

Scowling, Dororo shoved him and backed away. As she did, a wave of nausea overcame her and she had to take a few moments to compose herself as the feeling faded slowly away. "I'm fine," she said as nonchalantly as possible. "Just a little tired."

"Should we rest?" Genjirou suggested. "You are a child after all. Of course you would be tired."

A wave of anger surged through Dororo. "No need," she snapped as she tossed her bag from one shoulder to the other. She felt a sharp pain on her back and valiantly held back a wince. "Let's continue walking."

She marched on without them. Compliantly, the other two followed behind. However, as they continued on, Dororo could feel her feet beginning to drag harder and harder against the sand, nearly tripping several times in the uneven ground. Several times, she caught her eyelids closed for at least 5 seconds, and sometimes she would feel her stomach lurch with the urge to puke. But she kept it in and trudged on. 

Suddenly, Hyakkimaru let out a barely audible gasp that hitched on his throat. "Dororo," he said, catching up with her. "There's red on your shirt."

She looked down at her side. Sure enough, there was a dark patch on her green robe. The wound must have burst open with her excessive movement. 

Genjirou yelled, "That's blood!"

The look of alarm on Hyakkimaru's face was strange. He rushed forward and his trembling hands hovered over Dororo, not daring to touch her as he just looked at the patch of dark dark red seeping through her shirt. 

It was then that it occurred to Dororo that he had probably never _seen_ blood before. How ironic to have so much blood upon your hands but only just seeing it for the first time. 

"Look, I'm fine. This is nothing big," Dororo said.

"Let me take a look at that," Genjirou said, reaching over. 

Immediately, she slapped the hand away. "No!" Her vision began to blackout but she held her gaze in place in a feign. Her vision returned in spots and she realised she was swaying dangerously. 

Silently, Hyakkimaru touched Dororo's forehead with his hand. His cool palms shook ever so slightly. "You are warm," he said. "You're not okay."

"I'm fine!" she insisted as she pulled away from the other two and charged ahead. However, as she walked, she tripped on thin air and suddenly the world was beginning to tilt violently to the side. Her sight went dark even as she felt herself fall and hit the ground. The ground vibrated as loud footsteps came towards her.

She opened her mouth to insist that she was fine. But her consciousness faded as she heard Hyakkimaru's panicked voice call out her name.

**Author's Note:**

> weird concept i wanted to explore was: How would hyakkimaru react to the sight of blood???? Also, another thing i wanted to try was: dororo being distrustful of others (shes fairly wary of ppl finding out abt her gender...)
> 
> Thanks again for reading this fic! If you'd like more stuff, you could check out my tumblr ([here](https://nyctolovian.tumblr.com)) and request some stuff there! Feel free to bother me HAHA Hopefully i will be faster with writing from now on since i will mostly be home from now onwards.
> 
> If not, just comment down below or give some kudos :3


End file.
